Alexander Hume (1558 – 4 December 1609) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

poet who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland, minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week i ...

in the early 17th century.

Life

He was born in 1558 the son of Patrick Hume (d.1599). The brother of

Patrick Hume of Polwarth Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth and Redbraes (c.1550– June 1609) was a Scottish courtier and makar (court poet). Family background He was the eldest son of Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth & Redbrayes (d. May 1599) and his spouse Agnes, daughter of ...

, he was educated at the

University of St. Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

graduating in 1574 then studied Civil Law in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He returned to Scotland in 1578 serving in the Court of Justice, but (ironically) found it too corrupt for his tastes and decided instead to devote himself to the service of the church, and became minister of

Logie Kirk Logie Kirk is an isolated but operational church east of Stirling in central Scotland serving Church of Scotland pastoral duties in the areas of Cambuskenneth, Bridge of Allan, Causewayhead (eastern Stirling), and formerly the estate of Airthrey C ...

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

in 1597. This appears to have been at least partly supported by

Alexander Home of North Berwick Alexander Home of North Berwick (floruit 1570–1597) was a Scottish landowner and Provost of Edinburgh. His surname is sometimes spelled "Hume". He was a son of Patrick Home of Polwarth (d. 1578) and Elizabeth Hepburn (d. 1571) daughter of Patric ...

, Provost of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. His

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

(or at least the bulk of it) appears to have been paid by his own father rather than by the church. His

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

stood to the west of the church in the grounds of

Airthrey Castle Airthrey Castle is a historic building and estate which now forms part of the buildings and grounds of the University of Stirling in central Scotland. The 18th-century building with 19th-century additions occupies a beautiful setting in ...

and dated from 1590. He served as

"several times": thought to be 1602, 1604 and 1607 (possibly also 1599). On 6 May 1608 he was attacked by a parishioner (possibly his brother in-law), James Duncanson, with a heavy staff and never recovered. Duncanson is probably the same James Duncanson mentioned in parish records of April 1595 for having "carnal deal together" with Agnes Forester of Stirling, where the church forced them to marry. Hume grew ill in May 1609 and died on 4 December of that year. In his will he left a considerable number of books plus several musical instruments. To his best friend John Scherar a baillie in Stirling he left a gold ring to remember his "special love". He left his "love and Christian affection" to Dame Marie Stewart,

Countess of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. The ...

, the poet Lady Elizabeth Melvil, Lady Comrie, John Gillespie minister of Alva, Ninian Drummond minister of

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

, William Stirling minister of

Port of Menteith Port of Menteith ( gd, Port Loch Innis Mo Cholmaig) is a village and civil parish in the Stirling district of Scotland, the only significant settlement on the Lake of Menteith. It was established as a burgh of barony, then named simply Port ( gd ...

, John Alison minister of

Kincardine Kincardine may refer to: Places Scotland *Kincardine, Fife, a town on the River Forth, Scotland **Kincardine Bridge, a bridge which spans the Firth of Forth *Kincardineshire, a historic county **Kincardine, Aberdeenshire, now abandoned **Kincardi ...

, William Nairn minister of

Kippen Kippen is a village in west Stirlingshire, Scotland. It lies between the Gargunnock Hills and the Fintry Hills and overlooks the River Forth, Carse of Forth to the north. The village is west of Stirling and north of Glasgow. It is south-east ...

and James Caldwell minister of Bothkennar.Logie: A Parish History, Menzies Fergusson 1905: ''HMC 14th Report part 3: Hugh Hume Campbell of Marchmont'' (London, 1894), p. 92. His position at Logie Kirk was filled by Rev James Saittone or Seytoun of Denny before the end of the year.

Works

He published in 1599 ''Hymnes, or Sacred Songs'', including the beautiful "The Day Estival" descriptive of a summer day. Other works included the following: *''Thanks for the Deliverance of the Sicke'' *''Ane Epistle to Maister Gilbert Montcrief''

Family

His sister Janet Hume married Lord David Hume of Law. He was married to Marion Duncanson, daughter of John Duncanson (1501–1601) Principal of St Leonard's College in St Andrews, and later Dean of the Chapel Royal in Stirling. They had two daughters, Dinah and Naomi, and one son Caleb Hume, and they lived together in Logie manse. The family were asked to leave the manse in June 1610 to accommodate the new minister but were compensated £60. His great nephew was

Patrick Hume, 1st Earl of Marchmont Patrick Hume, 1st Earl of Marchmont (13 January 16412 August 1724), known as Sir Patrick Hume, 2nd Baronet from 1648 to 1690 and as Lord Polwarth from 1690 to 1697, was a Scottish statesman. His grandfather was the poet and courtier Sir Patrick ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hume, Alexander 1560s births 1609 deaths 16th-century Scottish writers 16th-century male writers 17th-century Scottish people 16th-century Scottish poets Alumni of the University of St Andrews Castalian Band Linguists of English Middle Scots poets Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 16th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 17th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland

Life

Works

Family

See also

References

External links